Dog Research Shows That Canines Remember Much Like Humans

Dog research shows that a dog’s memory is a lot more human-like than previously thought. Our canine companions can copy our actions, even after delays.

The most recent issue of Animal Cognition outlines the breakthrough that dogs have what’s called “declarative memory” referring to memories which can be consciously remembered, like facts or knowledge.

Obviously, humans possess this skill as well, but it had never been scientifically proven in dogs before. Dog owners and canine lovers have probably seen the skill first-hand for a long time.

The research was performed by Claudia Fugazza and Adám Miklósi of Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, where people really love their pooches. Hungary is also where many dog studies take place and where a number of the world’s top canine researchers reside.

The group researched if dogs could delay imitation: Could they do what their owners did?

Eight adult dogs were trained using the “Do As I Do” technique. The activities included copying their owners walking around a bucket and ringing a bell. The question to be answered was: “Can dogs properly copy what they learned after an approximately ten minuteattention distracting break?”

Fugazza explained what happened next with one owner-dog pair:

“The owner, Valentina, got her dog Adila to pay attention to her. She then demonstrated an activity, like ringing a bell with her hand.

Valentina and Adila then took a break, with both doing whatever they wanted to do. Sometimes they played together with a ball, or relaxed on a lawn. Adila happily sniffed around and barked at passers by.

After the break, Valentina went to her original starting position and gave the command “Do it!” Adila knew exactly what came next. The attentive dog rang the bell. Adila even did this when a human stranger, who didn’t even know what the prior activity (bell ringing) was, gave the same command.”

The research contributes to the broadening body of evidence that a lot of animals enjoy the world in any specific time fairly as people do, having understanding of the past and present under consideration and the probable skill to envision and even forecast potential situations.